In July, Agrifac UK partnered with Form the Future to deliver an engaging STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) based careers lesson with Friday Bridge Primary School. The aim was to inspire the Year 6 cohort to discover and connect to a world of career possibilities that they may not have known were an option previously, with the session hosted by Agrifac UK inspiring them to specifically focus on the Agricultural industry. 

Form the Future connects young people to a world of career possibilities, to inspire them to dream big and empower them to fulfil their potential. Many young people leave school without adequate careers education, unsure of what they want to do and how to enter the world of work. With volunteers from business, the team aim to equip students with skills of the future and develop employability skills, careers awareness, motivation and ambition. 

With East Anglia being a hub for Agricultural practices, Agrifac UK jumped at the opportunity to showcase the industry to a class from the upcoming generation, just a stone’s throw from their head office. Already indirectly submerged within Agriculture geographically, the team from Agrifac UK were keen to introduce the industry and the extent of careers it offers as more than just the most commonly known and often stereotypical roles that are perceived.  

Starting with a presentation on the business and how Rob White, After Sales Manager, and Georgina Garner, Marketing Manager, found their way into the industry, sparks in conversation were well underway before the interactive questionnaire based around facts on STEM roles within Agriculture, which really piqued interest within the chats between the 10-year-olds.  

Agrifac UK Marketing Manager, Georgina Garner commented on the project, saying: “When the team from Form the Future approached us to deliver an agricultural careers session into a local primary school, it was never as doubt as to whether we would get involved!”  

Georgina continued: “Located in East Anglia, we’re a hotspot area for Agriculture, so these pupils are already inadvertently involved with farming on a daily basis. Combine this and the synergy with STEM based careers within the industry, and our session wrote itself. Even if we managed to open the idea of entering agriculture as a career path for just one pupil or educate them on the different routes of getting there, we knew it would be worth it.” 

After the session, pupils and teachers alike were astound by the amount of STEM based career opportunities available at not just Agrifac, but across the whole industry. Post-project questionnaires revealed that a staggering 70% of pupils increased their knowledge of agriculture, with more than half revealing that they wouldn’t discount agriculture as a career route later in life.